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Porsche RS Models Will Not Get Manual Transmission

The Porsche RS models will not be getting a manual transmission. A company executive revealed they decided to go on that direction because the demand for it might not be high enough to justify its production.

“RS means Renn Sport, which means it has to be quick on the track, that it’s all about fast times on the track, and that means the PDK,” Andreas Preuinger, Porsche’s head of Motorsport Division, told CarAdvice during an interview.

“The PDK has advantages on the track that can’t be beaten by a manual, and the ones who prefer the manual transmission are not typically the track rats as we call them, but they are those who like to enjoy their cars on the normal public roads. I would say a GT2 RS with a manual option would have a four or five percent share of the market, we couldn’t justify that,” he explained.

Preuinger ensured that the manual stick-shift will remain as an offering in their GT models. He stated that they had success in their manual transmission cars. He estimated that putting it in the RS might yield a 30 percent share. However, they also projected that the demand might diminish and the figures might vary in different markets.

The decision of Porsche to ditch the manual in favor of the dual-clutch PDK for their RS models may not sit well to purists but Preuinger definitely had a point, especially on the “demand” factor. After all, they are running a business and numbers really do matter.

To the company’s credit though, they tried this formula before in their 911 GT3 RS to satisfy a segment of its market who were yearning for a manual shift stick. Unfortunately, it will not be the case this time.

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